1934 : Police kill famous outlaws Bonnie and Clyde
On this day in 1934, notorious criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde
Barrow are shot to death by Texas and Louisiana state police while
driving a stolen car near Sailes, Louisiana.
Bonnie Parker met the charismatic Clyde Barrow in Texas when she was
19 years old and her husband (she married when she was 16) was serving
time in jail for murder. Shortly after they met, Barrow was imprisoned
for robbery. Parker visited him every day, and smuggled a gun into
prison to help him escape, but he was soon caught in Ohio and sent
back to jail. When Barrow was paroled in 1932, he immediately hooked
up with Parker, and the couple began a life of crime together.
After they stole a car and committed several robberies, Parker was
caught by police and sent to jail for two months. Released in
mid-1932, she rejoined Barrow. Over the next two years, the couple
teamed with various accomplices to rob a string of banks and stores
across five states--Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, New Mexico and
Louisiana. To law enforcement agents, the Barrow Gang--including
Barrow's childhood friend, Raymond Hamilton, W.D. Jones, Henry
Methvin, Barrow's brother Buck and his wife Blanche, among
others--were cold-blooded criminals who didn't hesitate to kill anyone
who got in their way, especially police or sheriff's deputies. Among
the public, however, Parker and Barrow's reputation as dangerous
outlaws was mixed with a romantic view of the couple as "Robin
Hood"-like folk heroes.
Their fame was increased by the fact that Bonnie was a woman--an
unlikely criminal--and by the fact that the couple posed for playful
photographs together, which were later found by police and released to
the media. Police almost captured the famous duo twice in the spring
of 1933, with surprise raids on their hideouts in Joplin and Platte
City, Missouri. Buck Barrow was killed in the second raid, and Blanche
was arrested, but Bonnie and Clyde escaped once again. In January
1934, they attacked the Eastham Prison Farm in Texas to help Hamilton
break out of jail, shooting several guards with machine guns and
killing one.
Texan prison officials hired a retired Texas police officer, Captain
Frank Hamer, as a special investigator to track down Parker and
Barrow. After a three-month search, Hamer traced the couple to
Louisiana, where Henry Methvin's family lived. Before dawn on May 23,
Hamer and a group of Louisiana and Texas lawmen hid in the bushes
along a country road outside Sailes. When Parker and Barrow appeared,
the officers opened fire, killing the couple instantly in a hail of
bullets.
All told, the Barrow Gang was believed responsible for the deaths of
13 people, including nine police officers. Parker and Barrow are still
seen by many as romantic figures, however, especially after the
success of the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, starring Faye Dunaway and
Warren Beatty.
history.com/tdih.do
1701 : Captain Kidd walks the plank
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5027
1900 : Forgotten Civil War hero honored
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5028
1911 : New York Public Library dedicated
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5029
1960 : Eichmann captured
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6906
########################################
On this day in 1934, notorious criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde
Barrow are shot to death by Texas and Louisiana state police while
driving a stolen car near Sailes, Louisiana.
Bonnie Parker met the charismatic Clyde Barrow in Texas when she was
19 years old and her husband (she married when she was 16) was serving
time in jail for murder. Shortly after they met, Barrow was imprisoned
for robbery. Parker visited him every day, and smuggled a gun into
prison to help him escape, but he was soon caught in Ohio and sent
back to jail. When Barrow was paroled in 1932, he immediately hooked
up with Parker, and the couple began a life of crime together.
After they stole a car and committed several robberies, Parker was
caught by police and sent to jail for two months. Released in
mid-1932, she rejoined Barrow. Over the next two years, the couple
teamed with various accomplices to rob a string of banks and stores
across five states--Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, New Mexico and
Louisiana. To law enforcement agents, the Barrow Gang--including
Barrow's childhood friend, Raymond Hamilton, W.D. Jones, Henry
Methvin, Barrow's brother Buck and his wife Blanche, among
others--were cold-blooded criminals who didn't hesitate to kill anyone
who got in their way, especially police or sheriff's deputies. Among
the public, however, Parker and Barrow's reputation as dangerous
outlaws was mixed with a romantic view of the couple as "Robin
Hood"-like folk heroes.
Their fame was increased by the fact that Bonnie was a woman--an
unlikely criminal--and by the fact that the couple posed for playful
photographs together, which were later found by police and released to
the media. Police almost captured the famous duo twice in the spring
of 1933, with surprise raids on their hideouts in Joplin and Platte
City, Missouri. Buck Barrow was killed in the second raid, and Blanche
was arrested, but Bonnie and Clyde escaped once again. In January
1934, they attacked the Eastham Prison Farm in Texas to help Hamilton
break out of jail, shooting several guards with machine guns and
killing one.
Texan prison officials hired a retired Texas police officer, Captain
Frank Hamer, as a special investigator to track down Parker and
Barrow. After a three-month search, Hamer traced the couple to
Louisiana, where Henry Methvin's family lived. Before dawn on May 23,
Hamer and a group of Louisiana and Texas lawmen hid in the bushes
along a country road outside Sailes. When Parker and Barrow appeared,
the officers opened fire, killing the couple instantly in a hail of
bullets.
All told, the Barrow Gang was believed responsible for the deaths of
13 people, including nine police officers. Parker and Barrow are still
seen by many as romantic figures, however, especially after the
success of the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, starring Faye Dunaway and
Warren Beatty.
history.com/tdih.do
1701 : Captain Kidd walks the plank
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5027
1900 : Forgotten Civil War hero honored
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5028
1911 : New York Public Library dedicated
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5029
1960 : Eichmann captured
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6906
########################################
No comments:
Post a Comment